While Wednesday's biggest news centered on the implosion of American Floyd Landis on the trip up La Toussuire, there was also a lot to take in on the tech front at the 2006 Tour de France.

The view from the driver's seat

Photo: Jason Sumner

Over at CSC VeloNews got an up-close look at David Zabriskie's new ride, the Cervélo Soloist Carbon SLC-SL. The frame has all the features of its predecessor – beefed-up bottom bracket for added stiffness, thinned-out head and down tubes for better aerodynamics - but is 200 grams lighter.

Of course there's a cost for all this – in this case, $4500 for the frameset, or $1100 more than the original Soloist Carbon. No doubt Frank Schleck thinks it's worth it, though. The Luxembourg native rode one of the stealthy black bikes to the biggest win of his career on Tuesday, taking the stage victory atop the hallowed slopes of L’Alpe d'Huez.

Seat tube

Photo: Jason Sumner

Elsewhere the theme is seat posts - or lack thereof. Giant (T-Mobile), Ridley (Davitamon-Lotto) and Look (Crédit Agricole) have all rolled out frames with integrated versions. If results are any indication, the new designs are working. All told, bikes with the integrated seat posts have won five stages and spent five days carrying the man in the yellow jersey.

Besides lightening things up, the integration adds stiffness and creates a more aerodynamic profile. The Look E-Post also has a tightening system that uses elastomers, which help isolate road vibration.

Giant's integrated post

Photo: Jason Sumner

Here's a look at the new Cervélo, the next generation of seat posts and a few other goodies.